davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-02-05
REMARKABLE METEoRs.
Laborious Reinvestigatlonp of the Famous
Aerolite of July 20, 1860.

AeroIite of July 20, 1860.
A remarkable meteor was seen near
Lafayette, Ala, in the summer Of 1885.
1t exploded in mid air, leaving a train
of light which remained visible for
eight or ten minutes, at first notion
less, and then slowly changing from
straight to curvilinear form. The
moon shone brightly at the time. and
the atmosphere was clear. A meteor
fell near Grafton, Wis, last summer,
which caused great excitement among
the country people. A party OF har-
vesters were working in barley Held,
near the village named, when they
were suddenly startled by Il loud and
strange noise, not unlike the roar Of a
long train of cars. The noise in-
creased in volume to such degree,
during the space of only a few seconds,
as to become almost deafening. The
unusual sound seemed to come from
the heavens, and gazing upwards, the
spectators saw what appeared to be
huge ball of smoke rapidly descending
to the earth. 1t struck the earth with
in few rods of where the men were
standing, and buried itself deep
in the ground. At last accounts
the aerolite had not been found, though
adeep excavation had been made where
it struck the earth. Mr.. John e. Henry,
of Havana, in this State, has been la
boriously demonstrating the remark
able meteor of July 20, 1860, and
reaches some noteworthy conclusions.
This meteor was visible over belt of
country fourteen hundred miles long,
and several hundred miles wide, its
path being sensibly a straight line as il
moved over Lake Michigan to point
south of Rhode Island. Mr.. Henry
thinks he has proved that it was an
asteroid, with diameter of sixty rods
and that, after grazing the earth:
upper atmosphere, it sped on its way
into the depth of space with an actual
velocity of eighty thousand miles per
hour. According to Prof Lyman's data
this meteor, the apparent disk of which
was one-half that Of the moon, APP
preached nearest the earth (forty-onC
miles, mile south of Rhode Island
passed forty-two miles above Long
Island Sound, forty-four miles over thu
Hudson, fifty-one miles over Elmira
and sixty-two over Buffalo. If these
data are correct, it would seem prob
able that, under the earth's attrac
ton, it finally entered the Atlanti
Ocean. 1t was also seen out at sea
distance of three hundred miles off on
Atlantic Christian al Work.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-02-05
AN ANCIENT CUSTOM.

Expectations of Sneezlng Which Are Sever
al Centuries Old.
Most people sneeze in the course Of
their lifetime, and even in this country
there are many communities among
whom bystanders, upon such an occa-
sion, will exclaim: God bless your
This is designed to avert the evil omen.
The superstition was brought here from
England and from most of the northern
nations of Europe. Many of our read
ers will recall what Longfellow wrote
of the custom in Sweden; You sneeze,
and the peasants cry, God bless your"
A writer at the beginning of this GEN.
tury, remarking upon the customs of
Italy, says thatwhen you sneeze, seven
in the theaters, men rise and wish you
Felicitar" The purport of this is the
same as the hearty Swedish and English
"God bless you!"
The origin of this custom in the diff
ferent countries Of Europe was the same,
just as its meaning is the same. 1t has
been traced to those visitations of fear
full pestilence known rs the Black Death.
One will read of it in England in the
time of Edward III. In 1850 this plague
swept over Sweden and Denmark. Its
ravages in those countries were so great
that the disease gained the name of the
tiger death. The earliest symptoms of
an attack by so dread pest was
sneeze. Thereupon the plying by
ISLANDERS, with Borrowing glance, would
turn to the newly-marked victim and
exclaim: "May God be with you!"
If this account of the custom be cor.
rect, it will be seen in what good rea-
sor the usage originated, and with what
want of all reason it is continued in
times when a sneeze, at the worst, in
dictates but a trifing cold. Neverthe-
less, it is a pleasant little custom, which
does harm to nobody, and we have not
so many acts of formal courtesy that it
is necessary to dispense with any of
them Youths Companion
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-02-05
RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL

The Congregational Church at At
wood, Kan, with a membership of tif'
teen, has built IA g, 300 church.
The Methodist Church in Canadi
has a permanently-inyested fund O
$500, 900; a permanently invested edu
cational fund of the same amount, an(
missionary income of $lS0,000 year
j. A. Bostwick, the newly elected
president of the New York & New Eng
land Railroad Company, has presented
to the Wake Forest College in North
Carolina $50, 900, in addition to $4,000
given some time ago.
Suppose that two half-days b'
taken out of the school week of every
scholar in the grammar schools o,
Boston, and devoted to industrial edu'
cation. Would it not be decidedly for
the benefit of the pupils Pr asks thu
Boston Herald.
The Congregational churches re
port for the year q, 159 "added on pro
fession," and the Presbyterian Churcl
(Northern) 51,177 received "on exam.
nation" In no previous year have
either of these denominations reported
such large figures. - Chicago Inter.
Ocean.
The American Sunday Schoo
Union reports growth and success in
Sunday-school work during the past
year: 1,618 new schools with over co..
600 scholars have been planted in
places nearly destitute of religious
privileges; and in other schools nearly
100000 scholars have been added
N. Y. Examiner.
The Catholics have bought, fo
1885, the Charlier Institute building
facing Central Park, New York City
and there the christian Brothers ar,
to conduct a school of high order t,
prepare their young men for college o
commercial or scientific pursuits. TIL
building cost nearly a quarter of mil
lion.-NY. Tnbune.
The sum of $13, 1884, 986 was eS
pended last year in this State for tn
public education of 100000 children
Large as the amount appears, it i
money well spent; and more is needed
which should not be given grudgingly
for there are still 10000 childre
throughout the State who do not enjo
the benefits of the public school system
N. T. Leader.
"A writer on college customs say
the social position of a students famil
has very little to do with his position i
college. Ayouth of tact and agreeabl
address is often to be found in plaC
of far more prominence than is accort
ed to his people in ordinary life. O
the other hand an eccentric man of Il
most fashionable connections is ofte
nowhere in college Chicago Times.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-02-05
WIT AND WISDOM.

"A SOOu worn Is ill easy DllSdllOlii
put not to speak i'll requires only
our silence, which costs us nothing
IWlotSOn.
Mans capacities have never been
measured; nor are we to Judge of what
he can do by any precedents, so little
has been ried.--ThOredW.
The dear ladies'
The ladies-bless emit beats ALL
When they are young and squallers,
Their hearts are set upon the doll
When grown, upon the dollars.
lid Bits.
There are treasures laid up in the
heart, treasures of charity, piety, tenn
perance and soberness. These treas
ures man takes with him beyond
death when he leaves this world
Buddhist Scripture.
Things One Would Rather Have
Left Unsaid. Love-lorn MILDLY (aboul
to join his ship)-Ive come to say
good-bye, Amy! Cousin Amy-Good'
bye, Johnny. When we see you next
hope you'll be an admirdl! -PunchI
almanac.
Some remarkable stories have beer
told under the head of "Antipathies,'
but the most remarkable we ever heard
was that of the man who could not
sleep in church because the nap was
worn off his overcoat cOllar.-Barl:Rg.
ton Free Press.
Enthusiasm begets enthusiasm, elo,
ouence produces conviction for the mo-
ment; but it is only by truth to nature
and the everlasting institutions of man.
kind that those abiding influences are
won that enlarge from generation to
generatiOn.-LOW IL.
Young lady Gin book-store) 49, A
volume OF poetry, please. Clerk -
Yes. ma'am. En- what authori
Young Iady-O, l don't care any
thing about the author, but the cover
must harmonic with a cherry parlol
table with red plush top.-Puck.
-"Have you been doctering this cof
fee. JOHNNY" asked old Brown
smacking his lips in a suspicious man
ner. Yes confessed little Johnny
looking across the table at Merritt; :"
heard Cora say that Mr. Merritt didn'
know beans, so l put a few in the coffee
pot Just to test him. The Judge.
What Took the Prize.-"Where d,
YOU come from?' asked a Dallas maj
of a neighbor. I'm just in from tn
fair grounds Have the. judges o
live stock awarded the prize to tn
biggest jackP" They have "Di,
INV uncle or my father get it?'
"Neithcr Of them. A strange donke
from Eastern Texas got the prize. y
1 TeIdS SytingS.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-02-05
DEVlL-EXTRACTlON.
The Highly Lucrative Employment Pur-
sued by an Indian Gentleman.

sued by an Indian Gentleman.
The last census i'll India revealed the
fact that there are more occupations
engaged in by the people of The coun-
try than the ordinary public is cogni-
zant of; but as far as we remember, it
has been left to the Madras small cause
court to bring to light a gentleman who
gains his living by devil-extracting.
This novel, and, if we may Judge by
the fees charged, highly lucrative en-
ployment appears to be recognized as
perfectly legitimate profession. The
cause of action, it is true, was put
down in the plant as a refusal to pay
the plaintiff for the cure of the defend
ants brother "of n mental disorder of
mania attended by physical distress,
insensibility and palms, but there was
no disguise in court as to the exact ma
ture of the claim. In fact, the Judge, a
native gentleman, appeared to resent the
skepticism of the defendants pleader
as to the possibility ofcasting out devils,
and his POPULARITY at the expense of
the plaintiff S profession. "What if doc
tor does not cure, he can not recover"
his Honor exclaimed on one occasion;
and on another, when the defendant
pleader expressed his disbelief in devil
extracting, he inconsequently observed:
"But you believe in haunted housesP"
To this remark the pleader replied;
"There may be spiritual manifesto
ton" from which it would appear that
he is not altogether free from the super
stition which he ridiculed. The plain
tiff's cross-examination was very di-
verting. Diseases, he said, were OF
three kinds 49, mental, spiritual and
physical. Some physical sickness he
could cure by his art, but not every
case. Asked if he could cure love pains,
he replied; THAT is a very hard pain
to be cured; even my father could not
cure that" Later on he stated that he
could not cure a person unless he were
negative. Other witnesses called de.
scribed the nature of the plaintiff (
treatment and its success. It was in.
ferred that the evil spirit of the patient
in this case was of the female kind, and
as he, poor man, had only just beer
married, perhaps the presumption wa:
not far from the truth. At the conclu
sion of the evidence the worthy judg,
dismissed the suit, not because he wa!
of the opinion that there was no cause
Of action, but because there was NJ
evidence to support the contract sueC
lpon.- Times of India.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-02-05

-"Yeth, all, yeth,n he said; "yeth,
we're going to stick boars-imported
boars, you know-at Tuxedo; rare
sport, by Joyeln mo doubt"
she said, playing with her fan, "but
are you not afraid, Mr.. Addlepate, that
you will be injured?"-M Y Mail and
EMPRESS.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-02-05
A daughter of Bishop Wbitobeo,

"A daughter of Bishop Whitehead,
of the diocese of Pittsburgh, made a
donation of three canary birds, raised
by herself, to a charity fair in Pitts.
burgh. One of the birds was bought
by Reuben Miller, of that city, for $500
Pittsburgh Chr0nicle.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-02-05

"A Chinaman who can get one thou
sand dollars together in this country
and return home will rank as a big gun
all the rest of his life and live on the
fat of the land.-M Y. Mail.
The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-02-05

-"See that little darby thereP"
Yes" "Black as coal, isn't hep"
"Quite." We'll, change his color
10y simple performance" "How?"
81 can box his ears and make him yell
'Ohr "-Pitts5ursh Chr6Hicle.
The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-06-30
"rO THE DEATH

The governor has taken hold of train
robbery and mob violence with fastness
like unto the winning, business-like grip
of the bulldog. He means to carry his
point, and has gone about it in the right
way. With the long pole of executive
power, he has stirred up the sheriffs all
over the state, and informed them, in no
uncertain language, he would expect them
to do their duty, and would allow no ex-
cuses to excuse. He has next stimulated
private citizens to additional watchfulness
Of the welfare of the state, by Offering
very handsome rewards for the apprehen-
sion and conviction of persons guilty of
such offenses. The remarkable Twentieth
only appropriated the very modest sum of
$4,000 to meet rewards and other con-
tingent expenses, necessary in the enforce
ment' of the laws" This sum, upon such
demands as those now being made upon
it, will quickly be consumed. But, in a
matter of the gravity of the recent train
robberies, money cannot be weighed
against the reputation of the stat for law
and ORDER. An extra session of the legis-
lature, grievous as is the thought of
reconvening the stultitied Twentieth, would
be small consideration as opposed to al
lowing such vandalism to continue. But
barring this means for renletinp
this appropriation, enough patriotism can
be found in the state to come to the res
cue of the states honor, and crush out
such wholesale outlawry. Let the governor
not hesitate, but back his orders to forever
stamp out this hideous thing, and the
whole state will rise up in his support and
ego the limit" with him. Train robbery
must 90.
The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-06-30

Z. I. Moore and Rev. DR.. Carroll If
the negroes of the south don't want these
attentions-the first step to social equal
ity-why force it upon them? You may
feel that it is 'mere difference of COM
plexion," and perhaps it is with those
who feel it to be so-but no man or
that admission. My admirer also says sit
has been twenty years sill ce the sickly
sentiment started" 1t has also been
twenty years since prohibition was started
by our dear crusaders, and yet the wave
has just burst over Texas, threatening to do
more harm than any political election that
has been held for W ars, because they are
dragging the ministers of the gospel into
the issue. would like to relieve your
mind of one more mistake. You called
us "dishrag aristocracy." Now, you are
just as much mistaken as you pros" are.
in getting down other facts-this is the,
age of dishrag aristocracy. In the "ant-
bellum"times we did not carry all we could
on our backs, as most people do now, and
ladies did not spend half as much
time in idleness as they do now. We
did all of our sewing at home-even to our
best dresses; much of the plantation sew
ing was done by us; it is true we had ne
gro women who did nothing but sew
but in those days the boys clothes, as we'll
as our own, were made at home; ready
made shirts were not thought of, and
fathers, as well as the boys, suits were
made by our own hands; dish rag aristoc-
racy, indeed We were an industrious,
me-loving people, with not half the
foolish, extravaganza notions of the pres
ent day, and had ten times as much to
back Us. We did not wash our dishes, for
we had well-trained servants to do it; but
if the aristocracy of to-day want
to enjoy the luxury of clean
it, they will have t, ash them themselves,
In all the wide world [ don't believe such
slouchy help is to be found as in the,
south at the present time; but as New
England guardians say, it is good enough
for poor white trash" guess we will have
to put up with it, and pay all we can make
for it bellies. 1t is truly amazing to
see how our prohibition friends are
hedging themselves behind high sounding
phrases would be sarcasm and polite
references to ward off facts. We, of the
old south for defending our principles,
are called "dish-rag aristocracy," "shoddy
society,"-we are told that our grand.
fathers were Northumberland modern his
tory teaches that our fathers and brothers
we're traitors and rebels. Will some one
be kind enough to explain what we are
who we are? Will the Darwin theory ever
reach US? What will our children think of
us if we fall under the condemnation of
our northern brethren any further? Now,
my courteous admirer, deal in facts in the
future; be little more polite; southern
people are accustomed to it, and remem-
Der the people of the "old south" feel that
they would be everlastingly dlsgraced to
submit to social equality" The colored
people, as a class, don't want it, and if
eft alone with becoming modesty," they
will remain to themselves. OBSERVER.
The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-06-30

the old story of the wolf and the lamb.
The south had no hand in originating the
flag incident. She CAV. n uifsnse and
intended to give none. She has done all
in her power to "bridge the bloody
chasm,n and to again cement the union as
it was in the days before the war. She
has acted in good faith. She has not de-
served the abuse recently heaped upon
her by the men, wholly the brute force of
superior numbers, not only captured
southern flags, but robbed US of four bill
lions of property invested in slaves, to
say nothing of the spoons aud plate
"yanked" at New Orleans, and the robbing
and plumber and burning of the homes
along Sherman's route-that great ma
Georgia and the Caro-
linas. We have never asked the return
either of the flags or the stolen plum
der, or the restoration of the ruined prop
erty. All we have asked is peace, and to
be let alone.
The above is addressed to only a por-
ton of the Grand Army of the Republic.
For it is evident that the TRADES of abuse
by such crazy knaves as Fairchild repre-
sent neither the rank and file of the Grand
Army, nor the great body of the people
of the northern states.
The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-06-30
PRESS NOTES.

Philadelphia Record-"In the queens.
ointment is the Irish fly"
Philadelphia News-"The dwelling
idiot who asks if it is hot enough for you
is dwelling again."
Richmond Dispatch thank you
we are satisfied that June has lost none
of her old-time fervor."
Baltimore American-"The laboring
man who works and saves to-day is the
capitalist of Tomorrow
San Francisco Alta-"Omaha is making
pretensions to being seaport city. They
had clambake there the other day."
Cincinnati Enquirer-"Those public
men who desire public monuments ought
to die right off while the fever is on"
Palmerton Telegraph:-"We are sorry
to have to record the removal of one OF,
our subscribers TO the Stratford jail"
Chicago News-"There is barber in
Augusta, Ga, who dosn't talk to you when
shaving. He is getting rich rapidly"
Louisville Courier-J ournal-EThe car
wants to visit America, bat he is afraid of
meeting up with Rowan county man."
Belden (Texas) Monitor-"Atter four
cases of measles in our family in the last
three weeks We are all up and we'll again.
The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-06-30
MAKE THE LAWS ACTIVE.

Right in the verdict of the coroner's
jury, that sat on the killing of San An
tonic man at Castroville, stick a pin
showing enc and the greatest cause of
crime-the lax and remiss administration
of the laws. The jury say they had
"meagre testimony" and therefore could
not decide who did the killing; yet, the
very man who saw the deed committed
was not called as witness. Is that law?
Is that action in the interest of peace, JUS
tlce and the safety of humanity? They
then attempt to shirk responsibility and
try to throw the case on the shoulders of
the grand jury. They say sit is under
stood that the grand jury, which meets
on Monday, will Investigate the affair
thoroughly" They seem to know more
of what the grand jury will do than of the
case they were sworn to try. How could
any future action of a grand jury
affect their responsibility? They
were upon oath to try certain
case of criminal killing, they virtually re-
fused to do their duty, but remanded the
case to the grand jury. In the mean time
the suspected homicide is at large. Now,
if the grand jury also fail to do their duty,
the case will stand thus: A human life,
that our constitution guarantees shall be
inviolate, has been sacrificed, and our
laws, passed under this constitution, take
no cOgnizance of the affair. Who can
wonder at the continuance of crime? Who
is most to blame, the criminal or the laws
and those sworn to enforce them? Happy,
indeed, is it for the state that at this time
she has n governor who has hurled his fiat
against crime and all lawlessness, and who
has called upon all his peace officers to see
that the laws are strictly enforced. Gov
ernor Ross needs the endorsement and
hearty cooperation of every citizen of the
state in this great task, and every man
should lend himself INCREASINGLY to assist
in this vitality important work of recon
structing the efficacy and certainty of the
laws enforcement.
The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-06-30
ALIEN OWNERSHIP.

Recent statistics show that over twenty
million acres of what was once the pub
lie domain of the United States, are in the
hands of foreign landlords
corporations ard syndicates, who reside in
other countries, and use their holdings
in this for speculation, or to swell princely
revenues.
The land held by these alien landlords
constitutes a territory as large as Ireland.
1t is distributed throughout the southern
and western states. In this state an Eng
lish syndicate owns and controls three
million acres-an expanse sufficient for a
small state. Tho Holland company
owns 100000 acres in New Mexico,
The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-06-30

The English syndicate, headed by Sir Ed
ward Reid, possesses two millions in
Florida; another English company has l.
100000 in Mississippi; the Marquis of
Tweeddale, 1,75O,OOO acres; Phillips, Mar
shall d Co., of London, 100000 acres; a
German syndicate, 100000. A Scotch
syndicate has half a million acres in
Florida, while Lord Dunravcn owns co.
600 acres in Colorado.
The action of the congresses from 1861
to 1867, whose land policy was ample evil
dence of their corruption and dis
honesty, opened the door through
which these foreign spectators entered
on the princely domains they now pos
sess. Congress gave the land away
to grabbing railway corporations, and
the corporations bartered it to alien pro-
prietors. The excuse was the develop
meDt of this country and the building of
roads that could not be built without aid.
But since the squandering policy has
ended, the building of railroads has gone
on livelier than ever, showing the fallacy
of the pretense under which congress has
nearly and forever wiped out the vast
area of public lands, which the white man
reclaimed from the savage.
But in squandering it, the foundation
has been laid Tor species of absentee,
foreign landlordism that must, in the flu
ture, WELD an inimical influence in our
government, which these aliens are
brought up to despise.
The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-06-30

Wonderful tales are told of the per-
Torrance of the late Professor Hermann,
brother of the conjuror well-known in this
country. In Portugal he performed the
following trick before Don Fernando.
He handed the king a
loaded six barrelled revolver,
and requested his majesty to fire at him.
The king did so, and Hermann caught
five bullets in succession with his hand.
The sixth missed its aim and struck
large looking glass, which it starred with
innumerable cracks. Then Hermann him
self fired at the glass, which at once be-
came whole and faultless again. "You
are the devil in person." exclaimed the
king. $50 1 ara" replied Heamann, "but
a poor DEVIL